Hi guys, so as some of you already know I have about 15 lbs of venison left in the freezer, which my step daughter is not a big fan of--so I don't cook it that often because she needs to eat too--shes picky and thin. It is great tasting meat, I've got shoulder, sirloin tip, stewing meat, round roast and everything in-between....I have made 2 roasts and a venison stew so far and all were delicious. Now I am looking to make the rest into sausages and peperettes. I know nothing about this at all...I spoke with my friend who butchered the deer with me, and he said are you frigging crazy girl?? you cant just decide to make that with no experience... But he doesn't really quite comprehend the research abilities of old Christine the Machine here...plus Ive got the boys interested in helping me.

a while back I tried these 70/30 venison peperettes that's what inspired me---they were sooo good.

Ok so I did my research and now I see why he said that, this is SOOOO complicated...there are literally hundreds of different recipes, methods ect...and if ya don't get it right the consequences can range from wasting 20 lbs of good meat (which is a crime IMO) TO poisoning your family and friends with a horrible clostridium botulism induced death (at which point I may as well just give up and fall on my sword)

casings--no idea how many Ill need but a butcher shop in town says if you bring them 20 lbs of trimmed venison--with their pork it makes 35 lbs--they make you 320 peperettes-about 6 inches long--in 21 mm casings. So the way I figure it--after trimming all the white off--Ill have 10 to 12 lbs of deer and 5 lbs of pork, so we can make maybe 2 dozen large sausages and maybe 200 peperettes. I am going to buy probably 15 feet of 35 mm casings and I dunno 100 feet of 21 mm for the peperettes?

spices- bought a variety pack of jerky and sausage seasonings--lemon pepper, mandarin teriyaki, spicy Cajun ect for the peperettes and found a nice recipe for honey garlic venison sausages online...

bowls, gloves, sanitizer, freezer bags, butcher paper ect ect...check

now the hard part--the curing, smoking, showering, blooming and packaging.

I read that the "danger zone" is 40 to 140 degrees.--for botulism especially its 80 to 130 deg--try to keep it out of that zone as much as possible, no more than 4 hrs in that zone--..so the honey garlic sausages are going to remain raw, be packaged and frozen immediately. Ok easy. I also read good cuts make good sausage..some folks say ONLY pork fat 20 to 50% ratio...some say a fatty pork meat is better...so Im doing a mix of both.

The point of the peperettes though is to preserve them and have a snack that does not require refrigeration....so I must "cure the meat" before hand. I am buying cure #1. I read the max allowed amount of cure is 1 tsp per 5 lbs of meat otherwise its toxic...but they keep talking about this chemical reaction--the meat must be room temp, the nitrites, react with the bacteria and turn to nitrates which do not allow botulism to grow. Then the salts and nitrites in the meat turn it pink and then we are going to smoke them.

First we were going to cold smoke them for days, but Ive decided against that as I am not confident it is safe. So from what I have read--hot smoke em for 1 to 2 hrs--the internal temp of the meat they say lags behind the smoker temp by 25 deg. They say hickory is nice. They say to keep smoker below 150 deg F, then turn it up to around 170 deg for the last bit to actually cook them. They say it is done when internal temp reaches 154 deg F. They say afterwards you out them in a ice bath to stop cooking, dry them, hang them/blossom them ina cool dark place for a few hrs...then package them...but will these be ok out of the fridge at room temp for a few days if I take them camping?? or what? so confused. They said when they erach 150 deg F the fat will drip out and we don't want that--but they said to turn it up to 170 for a little while

THIS IS HAPPENING TOMORROW--I have defrosted the meat and at this point---its sink or swim. Any advice or tips would be appreciated or just general comments...wish me luck! This is a primitive skill I hope to master one day.

AOC yum I hope

"When government fears the people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny."--Thomas Jefferson

"Buy land- they are not making it anymore"- Mark Twain

"An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile hoping it will eat him last." -Winston Churchill

"Wilderness is in our hearts first and always. All of us can't have a cabin in the mountains. It's the wilderness within we must strive for first."- R. Sullivan

My wife isn't real fond of deer (she thought) but we butchered a cow last year too and she mixed some of the meat half and half (burger). I can tell the difference. But there's a difference between grass-fed beef (what we get now) and grain-fed beef (what we always used to get) too. . . . my son just serves it to his in-laws in chili and such and they don't know the difference although the mother-in-law doesn't like venison!! Some people don't like things because they and/or others can't cook!

You'll do well! Now you have to get more deer!

Mix in some pork, ham, bacon, and/or pork fat and who can tell what it is?!!!
Theo

My wife isn't real fond of deer (she thought) but we butchered a cow last year too and she mixed some of the meat half and half (burger). I can tell the difference. But there's a difference between grass-fed beef (what we get now) and grain-fed beef (what we always used to get) too. . . . my son just serves it to his in-laws in chili and such and they don't know the difference although the mother-in-law doesn't like venison!! Some people don't like things because they and/or others can't cook!

You'll do well! Now you have to get more deer!

Mix in some pork, ham, bacon, and/or pork fat and who can tell what it is?!!!
Theo

HAHAHAH I am too honest for my own good...she is my STEP daughter--if I lied to her about Bambi meat---she's probably never believe me again!
OK-will do- Just dont want to poison anyone! But my buddies who make and preserve jerky and peperrettes say if I am using cure--were OK

AOC

"When government fears the people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny."--Thomas Jefferson

"Buy land- they are not making it anymore"- Mark Twain

"An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile hoping it will eat him last." -Winston Churchill

"Wilderness is in our hearts first and always. All of us can't have a cabin in the mountains. It's the wilderness within we must strive for first."- R. Sullivan

Theophilus, I agree most people can tell the difference between venison and other meats, even when mixed, but a few can not. The office where the wife worked for most of her working career liked to eat. Sometimes in the office, sometimes at a restaurant, and the retirees still meet for a meal every six months or so. They liked to eat, to say the least!

Often times the office manager and the three supervisors would pay for, or provide, the main meal. At the particular time, of this meal, the office manager was a dedicated hunter, and typically took a couple of weeks off during hunting season each year. It was in the early fall and beginning to be cooler temperatures so for Halloween, the manger said he would prepare and bring the chili for the entire office. The supervisors provided all the h'ordeuvres & deserts. One of their female staff members was a card carrying member of PETA.

The wife said she could taste venison in the chili, but just to be certain after the meal was over she went by the managers office and asked him to be certain. His answer affirmed her thoughts, and they discussed different recipes for using venison in chili & sausages both. Before leaving his office, she reminded him of their colleagues PETA affiliations, who was overheard bragging about how great the manager's chili had tasted, and suggested he never reveal his ingredients or recipe to said PETA member.

Often times the thoughts & beliefs we are raised with, or acquire as we mature are based on prejudices, or someone else's prejudices, and really have no sound basis in truth. But I don't eat Broccoli, myself!

Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. - Theodore Roosevelt 1907
Every immigrant who comes here should be required within five years to learn English or leave the country. - Theodore Roosevelt 1918

The two most common elements in the universe are hydrogen and stupidity. - Harlan Ellison

Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I am not sure about the former. - Albert Einstein
I fear the day that technology surpass our human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots. - Albert Einstein

The optomist proclaims that we live in the best of all possible worlds; and the pessimist fears that this is true! - James B. Cabell

(02-12-2018, 01:55 AM)Jimbo Wrote: Sounds like you have everything under control AOC.

.................Before leaving his office, she reminded him of their colleagues PETA affiliations, who was overheard bragging about how great the manager's chili had tasted, and suggested he never reveal his ingredients or recipe to said PETA member.

Often times the thoughts & beliefs we are raised with, or acquire as we mature are based on prejudices, or someone else's prejudices, and really have no sound basis in truth. But I don't eat Broccoli, myself!

Thanks Jimbo, it was a long road but we did it!
PETA...what a bunch of morons..they euthanize over 85% of the animals they "save" hahah
I hope PETA never comes to my aid!
AOC

"When government fears the people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny."--Thomas Jefferson

"Buy land- they are not making it anymore"- Mark Twain

"An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile hoping it will eat him last." -Winston Churchill

"Wilderness is in our hearts first and always. All of us can't have a cabin in the mountains. It's the wilderness within we must strive for first."- R. Sullivan

Your thread and these cool days here certainly brings back memories of when we killed and butchered swine in years past. Jimmy Dean's sausage don't hold a candle to what those fresh pan sausages tasted like, along with the tinder loin and all the other fresh cuts. Some was refrigerated for use during the next few days, while some of the balance was smoked, some salted in stone crocks and the balance went in the freezer. But none was nearly so good as those cuts & products selected to be prepared without further preservation processing.

Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. - Theodore Roosevelt 1907
Every immigrant who comes here should be required within five years to learn English or leave the country. - Theodore Roosevelt 1918

The two most common elements in the universe are hydrogen and stupidity. - Harlan Ellison

Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I am not sure about the former. - Albert Einstein
I fear the day that technology surpass our human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots. - Albert Einstein

The optomist proclaims that we live in the best of all possible worlds; and the pessimist fears that this is true! - James B. Cabell